


A Line Between the Past and Reality

by smolkorok



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Battle Scene, Blood, Death, Fluff, Happy Ending, Healer Hyrule, Hurt/Comfort, Hyrule is immune to tickles, Injury, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Lynels suck, Wild is Ticklish, Wind is a tickle torturer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 02:14:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19984378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolkorok/pseuds/smolkorok
Summary: The Links come across a Lynel and it does not go well.





	A Line Between the Past and Reality

**Author's Note:**

> You read the warnings. There are descriptions of blood and other graphic stuff, so if you don’t like that then welp. Linked Universe belongs to @jojo56830 on Tumblr.

His heart dropped to his stomach. This is what Wild feared he and the crew would run into.

A white Lynel.

They were not even in his Hyrule, traveling on a wide, open dirt road in the middle of a forest when suddenly they reached a wide clearing and heard a roar. Weapons out and ready, Wild commanded for the others to hide and the Lynel readied itself to charge forward.

“I’ve fought Lynels before. The weak spot is the face. Aim for it and he’ll be down for a few seconds.” he shouted, and took out his shield. Shield readied in front of him, his figure tensed.

“Cub, what are you doing?” Twilight shouted from the bush. The lynel was about to kill him if he didn’t move out of the way!

No response came. The lynel ran, and Twilight’s heartbeat accelerated as he witnessed it swing his sword. A metallic _clink_ rang out, accompanied by a flash of blue light that divided the two.

He was seen unharmed, shouting “I need back up!” while attacking the monster. Warriors, Twilight, and Time rushed in with their swords drawn and started hacking away at the lynel’s tough skin. Hyrule, Legend and Wind stayed low and hidden in the bush. Legend nocked an arrow and pointed his bow upwards, focusing on its head. His fingers released the tension and the arrow flew.

_Ding!_

Immediately, Wild mounted the creature and swung his sword at the back of its neck, grabbing onto its mane while the lynel was trying to buck him off. A loud, irritated roar was followed by Wild being thrown off and he hit the ground. Twilight landed a hit and sneaked a quick glance to his protege, who was being helped up by Sky.

Big mistake.

A short blur that ran in front of him, shield out and a wave of hot air came close, pushing them both back. Fireballs singed the dirt floor around them. Four! His eyes were blazing and soon he left Twilight to inflict damage on the lynel.

While Four was delivering blows of his own at its legs, he didn’t pay attention that the lynel had turned, facing directly at him.

“Wild!” Sky cried and watched in terror as Wild flew out of his arms and sprinted towards-

“Four!”

It seemed to have happened in slow motion. Four’s head tilted up to see the shine of a metal blade approaching at an alarming speed and a flash of dirty blond hair appeared right in front of his eyes.

Wild let out a pained cry as the Lynel drove its sword diagonally through his left side, cutting open skin and flesh. They were both thrown back. His head knocked against the ground and the world faded.

…

“Wild? WILD!?” Four’s eyes widened he spotted Wild’s fallen body nearby. Gasps and shouts echoed in his head as he froze. A deep cut tore through Wild’s left side and flesh was exposed to the air. He felt bile rising up his throat, so he beelined towards a bush, releasing his contents. Four kneeled there for a minute, spitting out extra saliva.

A hand on his shoulder made him jump and he whipped around to see Hyrule’s soft expression. Hyrule asked him if he was alright, which Four chose to say that he was fine. But he was not, rather disturbed at that sight.

“I wrapped him up, don’t worry.” Hyrule assured and the pair walked back to Wild, who had a firm bandage wrapped around his torso. The bandage however was stained red with blood.

Meanwhile, angry blows were delivered from the others along with Sky. Legend and Wind were still firing arrows and soon the Lynel was taken care of.

The others surrounded Wild’s body on the floor. Wind winced from looking at the blood that already seeped through the bandage. That must’ve hurt real bad.

The light gray sky around them darkened. Tiny droplets of water fell from the sky, starting from a light drizzle that quickly crescendoed into a rain storm. A bright flash of lightning lit the sky and they all needed to find shelter quickly.

Time cursed under his breath. “I’ll carry Wild. Legend, Twilight, you lead. And-“ Thunder rolled loudly.

Nodding, Legend and Twilight started running forward, past the lynel’s corpse. Time carried Wild bridal-style, whose arm was thrown around Time’s neck. The others soon followed.

…

Wild was barely conscious. Feeling secure arms pressed against his back, his mind drifted to a memory 100 years prior.

_Zelda and the Champions had witnessed the purple-black malice that enveloped the castle. Calamity Ganon has awakened. They were off to their divine beasts and hand-in-hand Link was fleeing with her with a heavy heart after seeing Castle Town’s devastating state of destruction. The Divine Beasts and all Guardian forces had turned against them and soon the Akkala Citadel was lost. Link quickly changed directions towards Fort Hateno. On the way there a guardian decided to take aim at them, striking at their horse instead and now they lost two beautiful steeds. There was no other choice than to flee by foot._

_Link was starting to lose his composure. Every foot lifted with much strained effort. He found himself staring at a guardian who’s red eye was locked on him._

_“No!” Zelda pushed herself in front of him and with a flash of blinding white light, the laser never came. Link’s legs were shaking and he couldn’t keep up with it anymore. His legs gave out and he hit the ground. The world blurred after that._

_…_

Time muttered curses of Hylia under his breath and pushed down the panic that rose as the nine heroes ran through the heavy rain, desperate for shelter. His protege’s protege lay in his arms.

Wild woke up and shivered, his body felt _icy_ _cold_. He couldn’t see because his eyelids felt as heavy as a Goron. He felt a binding material around his abdomen and back. A headache pulsed at the back of his head. He noticed that he was moving fast and it felt like he was flying. It reminded him of the swift Sheikah. Where are they taking him? No, wait. They’re taking him away from Zelda! _She’s going to die out there if I’m not there with her! Let me go!_ He tried to move his own body but it took a lot of effort as he became more fatigued.

Time felt Wild’s fingers faintly twitch against his neck and he glanced down at Wild’s face. He looked pale for sure and his eyebrows scrunched together in discomfort.

“Hang in there son” He distinguished from a mix of sounds before fading into unconsciousness again.

…

Wild could feel the air around him turning drier and colder. His senses were duller than usual yet he felt himself being lowered down onto the hard, cold stone. Harsh whispers surrounded him but he couldn’t recognize which voice belonged to who. A familiar feeling arose. _The Shrine of Resurrection?_

The group had finally found a cave entrance that sat at the base of a hill, so they settled near the mouth. It was small, but big enough for their party. Time lowered Wild on the cave floor, near a wall and took one last look before sitting down against the wall nearby to rub his temples. Warriors, Legend, Sky, and Wind searched through their bags for a healing potion. Legend huffed in anger as he found no luck.

Twilight, shifting into wolf form lay down next to Wild’s body. Four found himself sitting next to Time.

Hyrule kneeled in front of Wild and whispered, “I’m sorry Wild, but I need to do this.” He started to peel off his bloodied bandages and shirt to examine the damage.

_“Impa, take a look at Link. I’ll see what Robbie and I can do with the Sheikah Slate.” Purah ordered and they set to work. She lay the slate in its pedestal, and on the screen in Hylian words flashed_

**_REBOOTING: 25% COMPLETE._ **

_Meanwhile, Impa lifted Link’s shirt up and over his head._

Wild felt the damp material dragging across exposed flesh and pain flared throughout his side. He unconsciously hissed in pain. The movement pauses and he heard a soft “sorry”.

**_REBOOTING: 50% COMPLETE_ **

_Impa tried to be gentle but quick with this process so that they would get it over with it._

Now that the shirt is being pulled over his head, Hyrule felt sorry for what Wild had to go through. Wild felt his wounds stretching and let out a small whimper as sharp pains shocked his side.

He looked terrible. His skin was pale and by the looks of it, another one would be added to his collection of scars. A deep cut ran through his left side diagonally. Although the bleeding stopped, his skin was dyed pale red in his own dried blood.

**_REBOOTING: 75% COMPLETE_ **

Another flash of lightning. More downpour. Hyrule tossed the soaked Champion’s Tunic off to the side.

_Clink_ , the sound of a glass! Warriors grasped onto the smooth bottle and brought it out of his bag. He shook it up and down and the _swishes_ caught everyone’s attention. He lifted it up to his eyes, trying to see the color of it in the dark lighting. _Red. A healing potion!_ He searched in his bag for another, but he had only one on him for now.

“Hyrule, I found a potion.” Warriors handed him their best chance of healing Wild.

“Wolfie, You should take a break. Hyrule needs to perform his task and to be real, we’re all as stressed out as you are.” Time requested. Twilight walked over to the entrance of the cave and started pacing.

**_REBOOTING: 100% COMPLETE. TAKE THE SLATE FROM THE PEDESTAL._ **

_“Oh Snap!” Purah exclaimed and followed the instructions. “From my studies, the Shrine of Resurrection has a stasis-function to protect the body while it heals. But, with Link’s state, we don’t know exactly how long the healing process would take.” Her voice died out._

_“Purah! Read the slate.” Robbie pointed. There was a new rectangular box with flashing words:_

**_SHRINE OF RESURRECTION - ACTIVATE HEALING POOL_ **

_She tapped her finger on the screen. A glowing blue liquid rose from around Link up to his ears. Impa kneeled and whispered a few thoughtful prayers. Robbie places the Slate back in the pedestal. They all take one sad but hopeful look at Link and exit the shrine. “Link, you are our hope.”_

Hyrule asked Warriors to aid him. Warriors lifted Wild’s head and tipped it forward, careful not to move any of his sides. Hyrule parted Wild’s mouth and poured in the contents of the bottle slowly. Once finished, Warriors sat nearby.

Hyrule decided that for this injury, one potion might not even be enough. His hand hovered over Wild’s left side as he whispered healing spells.

Wild felt as if it was getting harder to breath. A cool, pleasing pulse ran through his left side, but the world was starting to fade black again. With one last breath, he thought _I’m sorry everyone. I failed you all._

…

Twilight paced back and forth near the entrance with a million what-if’s going through his mind. Sky kneeled, facing the wall with the Master Sword laid out on his lap. He prayed for the life of his friend. Warriors and Legend looked terrible, with bags under their eyes. Wind wiped away worried tears while Warriors was hugging and rocking him back and forth. Legend sat and stared at the gray ground with glazed eyes. Time did the same with his back to the wall, staring into nothingness because his protege’s protege’s life was draining before him.

Four’s eyes were duller than usual and switched between several colors rapidly. Every time he looked at Wild, even if it was his leg or his blond hair, it reminded him of his unconscious, bleeding body on the ground. Four’s fist clenching and unclenching, mumbling to himself, then let out a tiny sob. Time turned towards him and pulled him close, without a word passing between them.

…

Using magic was draining. Hyrule especially felt like that right now. He took a few moments to catch his breath because his head was a bit lightheaded. A dose of panic from nowhere washed over him. He checked for a pulse and all he felt under his two fingers was still skin, empty of warmth.

“Wild? WILD!?” Hyrule’s voice raised in panic, causing the others’ melancholic gaze to turn towards him. Twilight padded quickly towards the two to lay down next to Wild’s head.

Hyrule placed his ear on Wild’s chest to listen for a heartbeat, but it never came. The chest never rose up. Dread filled his heart.

A wave of anxious and unbearable silence overtook them, except for the sound of the pouring rain outside.

Hyrule swallowed the lump down his throat and shakily inhaled.

“We lost him.” His voice cracked and tears ran down his eyes.

_Wild is gone._

Soon all of the Links joined Hyrule to mourn for the loss of their brother. Tears, sobs, and sniffles echoed throughout the cold cave, wanting to be heard by their brother’s spirit to tell him how much they miss him.

Twilight nudged his head at Wild’s in hopes of waking him up but there was no response.

Four was shaking.

“If we had noticed that Lynel was about to attack us, none of this would’ve never happened!”

“I know, Blue. But-“ A voice tried to reason with the former, this time lacking his cool tone.

“ _Wild’s dead!_ And it’s because of us, okay?” Blue snapped.

Red weeped.

Green felt torn and stressed.

Though, Green, Red, Blue, and Vio all knew and agreed on one thing: Wild is gone.

_Wild is gone._

The heroes wept for what seemed like an eternity.

A bright teal light suddenly lit up the dark cave, forcing them to move away from Wild’s body.

“It was my pleasure” A beautiful yet graceful Zora spun around Wild’s body. Her lips tugged down as she inspected him, yet her eyes contained such gentleness of a spirit. Her hand ran along his body and healed his open cut which immediately closed up and left fresh scars in return. Her hands mainly wandered near the back of his head, and she took a long last glance at everyone before the teal flames extinguished.

Wind was watching this with curiosity. He’s seen this Zora following Wild sometimes, but he didn't know of her power. He’d ask about it later.

The air was tense. What did just happened? All eyes focused back on Wild.

His chest rose up raggedly at first, but evened out to deep, slow breaths afterwards. He looked less-pale and his face relaxed.

A few gasps came from behind Hyrule as he shakily brought his fingers forward under Wild’s jaw, where his jugular was located.

A pulse.

A sign of life.

Was he really alive?

Hyrule whispered, “Goddess above…”

and listened to his heartbeat.

_Wild is alive._

Hyrule didn’t notice that his mouth slipped and the others heard the news.

Time reached forward, his hand on Wild’s chest as Wild took a deep breath. So it was true. His eye widened.

Twilight snuggled up to Wild. His body radiated warmth unlike the cold, unresponsive skin like before.

Wind looked up to see the same Zora girl, who was kneeling next to Wild. The others couldn’t see spirits like he had, so he decided. Wind caught eye contact with her and mouthed, _Thank you._

Warriors had almost lost a sparring partner, but more importantly a brother. He stared at Wild’s calm face while he slept, unlike the tense and alert expression he wore during the day.

Legend had one thing going through his mind. _What the fuck just happened_. Despite that, he was glad that he didn’t lose another one of his family.

Sky thanks the Goddesses. Had he seen Wild really die he would never forgive himself for not having a potion on hand. At the least, Wild is alive.

Hyrule checked his friend’s pulse again just to make sure that this was all real, not just a dream. _Lub-dub, Lub-dub, Lub-dub._ He exhaled out in relief and made a promise to himself to keep that heartbeat going.

Four hesitated at first, guilt squeezing his heart as he approached Wild’s body. He moved his hand under Wild’s down faced palm. He takes a moment to absorb that he is breathing normally, all while running his thumb across Wild’s hand. The voices are loud in his head, but all that matters is that _Wild is back._

A quiet groan brought the group back to reality and the body stirred.

Wild turned his head to the other side, trying to get more comfortable but something was off. There was pressure all over his body and he sensed that he wasn’t alone. He slowly blinked open his eyes.

He’s shirtless and he can hear the _pit-pat, pit-pat_ ’s of the rain droplets outside. Time, Twilight, Hyrule, Warriors, Legend, Four, Wind, and Sky surrounded him, either sitting or kneeling. They all looked terrible, broken, and tired. Some of their eyes were red like they had been crying real hard. Other eyes widened.

“Umm..Guys? You’re all on me right now.” Wild hinted uncomfortably. They got off. He sat up and was surprised to see that his left side didn’t hurt anymore. Instead of an open, bleeding wound, in its place were pale pink skin.

A self-conscious feeling started to bubble as he was being stared at by everyone. But, it soon washed away when Wild was attacked by Wind’s tight hugs. He smiled softly and wrapped one arm around him. Wolfie sat on his lap and pressed a paw to his stomach and _he jumped_. Wild used his free hand to pet the wolf. Both of his paws pressed against Wild’s stomach again.

A soft sound of a chuckle echoed among the cave and he stopped himself with wide eyes.

Wild is ticklish? Wind had experience when he tickled Aryll, so an idea came to mind. His fingers wriggled and aimed for Wild’s stomach while Wolfie struggled to get away. When Twilight did, he shifted and came back to a sight.

“Ahh! Wind! No! Stop! My stomach hurts.” Wild choked out between laughter and he was on the ground. A pink blush tainted his cheeks, his ears very red.

Wind huffed. _That’s what you get for worrying us to death._ When he turned around, looking for his next victim Wild rolled away.

All of the others backed away except for Hyrule and Twilight. Wind tried to tickle them but found out that Hyrule was immune. He lunged towards Twilight, aimed for his stomach and Twilight ended up laying on his back, writhing his body around as he was scratched in the belly. He seemed to have enjoyed it.

“What the heck Twi?” A confused Wild couldn’t even. He was now wearing the red Hylian Tunic without all of the belts and armor.

Wind’s gaze was like a seagull looking for a scrap of food and found Four watching them with dull eyes and whispering to himself. He just looked so broken that he needed a distraction. Wind had a mischievous glint in his eye as he locked eyes on Four. _What if?_

“Four!” Four snapped out of his thoughts as one came to mind. _Oh fuck._ He sees a light-blue blur and next he’s laughing-crying on the ground, trying to escape Wind’s trap. That was the day they found out that Four was extremely ticklish. Wind found all the weak spots: the armpits, tummy, neck, and sides. Time spectated with a young glimpse in his eye as chaos ensued to a tickling battle.

…

Wild was stirring up some creamy heart soup tonight, the rain finally stopped recently. He noticed that the Links scooted closer to him than usual. The crew savored his soup like it was their last meal. How odd.

Before they went to bed, Four announced that he would take the first watch. He sat on a rock at the mouth of the cave, glancing up at the twinkling stars above.

Wild lay on his side, staring at Four. He backtracked to earlier in the day. Was it really right to sacrifice himself? A pull, a strong urge to talk this out with the other grew unbearable. He took action and walked over, making loud footsteps to make his presence known.

“Wild? Oh. Hey.” Four said in a tired tone and patted the stone floor next to him. Wild took the offer and joined him in stargazing.

Silence hung over them. It was a peaceful sort, the one that makes you take in the moment around you. Wild took a deep breath. He was ready to let this go.

“Hey Four?”

“Hmm?”

“Can I talk to you for a while?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“Do you know sign?”

“Yes, I do. But I’m currently learning.” Four turned towards his friend, who wore a nervous facial expression.

Wild hesitated at first. With a deep breath, he moved his fingers.

“ _I’m sorry. I saw you out there and I couldn’t bear to see you take a hit, so I felt a strong urge to protect you.”_

“You didn’t have to die for it though!” Four’s eyes flashed blue, his arms crossed in front of his chest and Wild visibly winced.

“ _I know.”_ He broke eye contact and found interest at the ground, a small frown tugging at the corners of his lips. Four dropped the gesture,

He sighed. “ _I’m sorry. Was that disturbing for you?”_

“I’d be lying if I said it didn’t, but I forgive you. Try not to do it next time because you almost gave us a heart attack.” Four’s eyes flashed reddish green.

“Thank you” Wild spoke and he wore a soft, genuine smile on his face and he opened his arms.

Four gave in to his embrace.

“Hey Four?” Wild interrupted the silence.

“Yeah?”

“Are you still mad at me?”

“No, of course not...But I was mad at myself earlier. But I’ve talked it out and forgiven myself.” Four replied, hesitating at first.

“Well I’m glad you have.” _Talked it out?_ The sound of a cricket filled in the silence, signaling that it was time to hit the hay.

A long while after Wild closed his eyes, he heard the direction of footsteps aiming towards the entrance of the cave. A loud yodel rang through the night and soon everyone was up, throwing pillows at Twilight.

**Author's Note:**

> Ahh I think I hurt Wild too much- I’ve placed a few headcanons that was discussed on the discord, like ticklish Wild, Twilight accidentally acting like a dog when he’s not in wolf form, and Wind could see spirits. Thanks for reading!


End file.
